Who here loves a good ice cream sandwich? I know I’m raising my hand! Far, far too long since I’d had one too. Summer could not be over before I made some ice cream sandwiches. We did sundaes, fudgsicles, and popsicles this year; I was not about to neglect the ultimate “sandwich”. Now it depends on who you ask, but when “ice cream sandwich” comes to mind you either think of a chocolate chip cookie with ice cream (i.e. the “chipwich“) or, my humble childhood favorite, the soft brownie wafer/bar and fake vanilla ice cream (i.e. these bad-boys wrapped in that glorious white paper and preferably generic store-brand).

Nothing will ever beat those…the best. I can still remember unwrapping those ice cream sandwiches, delicately pealing off the paper and revealing the somewhat gooey ice cream that was exposed on the sides to the paper (and licking the excess ice cream off said paper). I can even still remember the fake soft chocolate bar and fake vanilla ice cream taste…one in a million. That, my friends, was a quality childhood delicacy!

Sadly, those store-brand paper-wrapped bars will never grace my tastebuds again, but at least there’s always the memories. The memories and some gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, and so on, substitutes! I have a mental list in my head of “foods to eat one more time before you die”. I’m talking about all my old childhood favorites when I was able to eat any and every thing! I was talking to my mom about this the other day and she has a few she wouldn’t mind having one more time! This list is super long though, but those ice cream sandwiches are 100% on that list!

One day I’ll have to make a post with that list. And it’s not just “bagel, pasta, pizza”. It is a super specific list, from brand/store to the spread lines of peanut butter on a PBJ. There is no fooling around when it comes to this list! Since this is just a “hypothetical wish-list” right now, we have some REAL ice cream sandwiches to get too! These are super easy, no cooking or baking required, just some freeze time! The cookie bar is made with grain-free tigernut flour, sunflower seed butter, and a nice little dose of mini chocolate chips. The ice cream is that trendy “nice cream” made from bananas. I hate the term “nice cream” and I’m not even fond of bananas, but I wanted to make these with homemade ice cream and the easiest homemade ice cream to make is with frozen bananas. I bit the bullet and sucked up my pride. Good thing, because these turned out to be one TASTY combo!

In a large bowl, combine all the cookie dough ingredients and mix/knead to combine with your hands.

Roll the dough out on a flat surface, either between sheets of parchment paper or Silpats, to about ¼ inch thick.

Cut the dough into 10 rectangles and freeze them on a baking sheet for 1-2 hours.

To make the ice cream, simply blend all ice cream ingredients together in a food processor until thick and creamy.

Remove the cookie dough slices from the freezer and place about 2 tablespoons of the ice cream on 5 of the slices, placing the other 5 on top to make 5 sandwiches total.

Freeze the sandwiches for about 2-3 hours before consuming.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1

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Drooling, right? It is such a good combo! The sweet tigernut flour with the sunflower butter paired with that cinnamony banana ice cream…bingo! So have no fear, you can still have a fantastic ice cream sandwich option this summer. It may not be fake and wrapped in paper (although I should look for some of that specific paper), but they win in other categories. I’m just glad we can all enjoy them. “Free” for all!

So tell me:

+ Are you a chipwich person or a soft chocolate bar ice cream sandwich kind of person?

Not your typical banana pancake recipe for breakfast here! These are the ultimate banana pancakes thanks to banana flour, making them gluten-free, vegan, grain-free, and nut-free! Your Sunday mornings just got a lot more delicious!

***This post has been updated in July 2016. Original writing stands***

You probably think you have seen every banana pancake recipe out there. It’s the easiest vegan pancake to make. Bananas are the perfect egg replacer and taste pretty darn good. But all I know is I’ve seen so many boring ‘ole banana pancake recipes out there, but not one is as banana filled as this. I actually dislike (whole) bananas but do like the taste of them. They are fine when blended and baked in things like pancakes, bread, etc. I’m not even much for them in smoothies and could never fathom eating them in their whole form. The plantain? Well, that is the opposite story 😉

I can’t take all the credit for this banana creation. It was only made possible by the company WEDO Gluten-Free. Here is their incredible story:

“WEDO (‘We Do’) Gluten Free began in the heart of Kenya when Co-creator David Wintzer was assisting a group of 25 women, Women Entrepreneurs Development Organization (WEDO) in granting micro-loans to start-up small business, one of which a banana flour factory. WEDO Gluten Free’s original and first supplier. After working with the group for almost two years WEDO Gluten Free knew it had to expand to other parts of the world if it wanted to meet the demand for a potential US market.

The team spent an entire year researching and traveling the globe in search of the best banana flour manufacturers. After many long nights and a few thousand sky miles later WEDO found its core group of suppliers to help make the vision of banana flour become a reality. WEDO has developed relationships with suppliers in multiple countries around the world providing economic opportunity to small-scale farmers and manufacturers across the board. For the majority of these countries bananas are a staple food crop and with an excess amount of bananas going to waste each year, WEDO is able to partner with manufacturers giving an alternate use to the banana overload, providing additional revenue streams to manufacturers and farmers.”

Yes! Banana Flour? I was speechless. When I found out about this company, I mentioned them in one of my Friday Finishers and immediately put that flour on my list of things to buy and try. When I finally decided to spend my Amazon gift card from Christmas a few weeks ago, Banana Flour was put right in my cart. It’s a bit pricey, but well worth it since a little goes a long way! The nutritional stats are phenomenal and it’s totally gluten-free/grain-free. It is made with green bananas so it doesn’t taste like the sweet iconic banana flavor you’re thinking. That is until you bake it or cook it with some banana puree! Then the banana flavor comes out! The texture is light and fluffy, gives added nutrients, and has a high starch content which allows you to use less flour when cooking. In 1/4 cup you get the potassium of eating 12 bananas!

When I opened the container, I wasn’t sure what I would find. I took the top off and a bunch of flour blew up in my face (fail!). Inside was a beautiful, light, very airy, (light buckwheatish-colored) flour. Then the pancake making commonsensed! Luckily my brother was just home the weekend before and my mom had bought him some bananas and there was still one perfectly ripe one left to use! Since I don’t like them, we usually don’t have them. But, I was in luck. Soon the sweet banana smells filled the air and the ultimate banana pancake was born. Along with the ultimate banana comrade for a great saucy and nutty topping (sweet peanut sauce!)

Not your typical banana pancake recipe for breakfast here! These are the ultimate banana pancakes thanks to banana flour, making them gluten-free, vegan, grain-free, and nut-free! Your Sunday mornings just got a lot more delicious!

In a bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon, give it a mix with a fork. Then add in all the wet ingredients and banana mash. Mix until you have semi-thick pancake batter.

Grease a non-stick pan with coconut oil and heat over medium heat on the stove.

Once the pan is hot, Add about ⅓ of the batter to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, flip and cook and additional 3 minutes. Repeat for the rest of the batter.

For the Peanut Swirl Sauce, add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix well. Add the water slowly so you get the right think but saucy consistency, you may need more of less.

Plate the cakes and top with your sauce!

Notes

*You can do 3 Tablespoons of banana flour and 2 TB of peanut flour if you want extra goodness! You may need to decrease or increase water as needed.

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These kept me satisfied all morning! Healthy, nutritious, vegan, grain-free, gluten-free, and filling? It can be done! You can eat these every day, all day and feel pretty good about yourself! You can top these cakes with traditional syrup, but isn’t banana and peanut butter one of the ultimate flavor combos? At least, that’s what I’ve heard! Now go make these ultimate banana pancakes!

Hey friends! I’m Rebecca a healthy gluten-free & allergy-friendly food blogger, Celiac advocate, yogi, and college student! I have a strong passion for finding the beauty and happiness in life no matter what hurdles it throws at you. To me happiness is sunshine, stepping onto my yellow yoga mat, waking up at 4 am, mugs of hot tea or black coffee, and of course cooking up delicious, nutritious food!